Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

As a frontal assault force, the 7th Company did not rush to launch an offensive, but instead slowly and covertly advanced.

They still need to wait for the 8th and 9th companies to arrive.

Even though they moved very slowly, the Indian army spotted them when they got within 300 meters.

"Enemy!" the Indian sentry shouted at the top of his lungs, pulling off his rifle and firing a shot haphazardly.

The sentry's sudden firing of the shot immediately caused a commotion among the Indian troops.

Immediately afterwards, bullets from Indian heavy machine guns swept over like scythes.

Lying on the ground, Li Zhe raised the signal gun in his hand.

A signal flare shot into the sky.

"The battalion commander has given the signal!"

"Fire! Fire!"

As the artillery commander waved his small flag, several mortars that were already prepared immediately began rapid-fire suppression.

The Indian army's position was engulfed in a barrage of artillery fire.

Inside the basin, upon hearing the sudden outbreak of fierce fighting, Vikas's expression changed drastically.

Zhanduo was entirely within the Indian army's rear, and according to his calculations, there should absolutely be no fighting there.

"All troops, assemble immediately!" Vicas shouted as he stood up.

"Artillery immediately adjust direction and provide fire support to Company C."

"Tell C Company, hold out for half an hour, the Sikh Battalion will be there soon!"

Vikas was filled with regret. He had placed his command post and main force in the basin to avoid the cold wind, and now he was completely at a disadvantage.

Vicas wanted to turn the tide as quickly as possible, but his orders were clearly a bit too slow.

While the Sikh battalion was still assembling there, the outcome on the high ground was already decided.

While the artillery opened fire to suppress the enemy, the 7th Company had already split into three groups and launched an attack.

The 7th Company Commander led the 1st Platoon to suppress from the right flank, the Political Instructor led the 2nd Platoon to suppress from the left flank, and Li Zhe led the 3rd Platoon and the Firepower Platoon in a frontal assault.

With the addition of the 9th Company's support forces, Jet's C Company was divided into several parts by the attacking central force.

In a situation where certain death was inevitable, Jet C Company's potential was fully unleashed.

Faced with the suppression of grenades and automatic rifles, the surrounded Indian troops unanimously chose to flee.

Moreover, not a single Indian soldier fled back to the brigade headquarters; they all headed southwest towards Bhutan.

Then they plunged headlong into the encirclement of the 8th Company.

The sudden and intense attack caused the fleeing Indian Army's C Company to scatter in disarray.

Indian soldiers were fleeing for their lives, and the hillsides were covered with them.

The time spent by the 8th Company chasing down Indian deserters was much longer than the time it took the 7th Company to break through the enemy's position.

Upon learning that the high ground had been captured, the headquarters of the Indian 7th Brigade was thrown into chaos.

Packing, burning documents, and various shouts rose and fell.

The Indian troops preparing to flee didn't resemble an army at all; the headquarters of the 7th Brigade looked more like a vegetable market.

Seeing that the Indian army had no intention of seizing the high ground, Li Zhe immediately judged that the Indian army wanted to run away.

"We can't wait any longer, the entire army must launch an immediate assault!" Li Zhe decisively ordered.

"The 7th Company will attack and seize key positions, the 8th Company will take out the enemy's artillery positions, and the 9th Company will penetrate into the southeast of the basin to completely block the enemy within this basin!"

As long as the Indian troops can be trapped in the pit, they will have no chance of escape, and then we can deal with them slowly.

Given the location of the Indian troops, it would not be difficult to blockade them.

After the 7th and 9th companies each captured several key high ground positions, their machine gun fire was able to provide comprehensive coverage.

Faced with machine gun fire, Indian soldiers dared not even peek out, let alone risk their lives to blow things up.

Although the Indian troops dared not break through under machine gun fire, they still used cover within the basin to retaliate.

After all, the Chinese army only displayed less than 400 men, which is quite a difference compared to the Indian army's more than 1,000 men.

The Indian army felt they could still fight, and even if they couldn't break out, they could easily wait for reinforcements to arrive.

Seeing that the Indian troops were stubborn and refused to admit their mistake, the soldiers did not hold back and kept firing bullets and shells.

Battles raged throughout the basin, with both sides locked in fierce combat.

"Platoon leader, about 40 Indian soldiers are cornered in the corner, and they are using the terrain to launch a counterattack!" a soldier shouted in report.

"Don't rush, use machine guns to suppress the enemy and control their movements."

"Send someone to the back to find the mortar team and bombard these bastards."

Victory is practically in our grasp now, so minimizing casualties is crucial.

Nara, the Sikh battalion commander who was squeezed in the corner, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the central army troops had stopped moving.

“We’re safe,” Narayin encouraged the dozens of soldiers beside him.

"We just need to hold on a little longer, and the enemy's offensive will inevitably weaken."

"At that time, whether we continue to break through or hold our ground and wait for reinforcements, we will have the initiative."

"If reinforcements arrive, we can turn the tide."

Before Narain could finish speaking, a shell suddenly struck them squarely in the center.

With a loud "boom," the shell killed seven Indian soldiers on the spot, and several others were injured by the explosion.

At this point, no one listened to what Narain was saying anymore; everyone smoothly raised their hands.

Soon, Narain was brought before Li Zhe.

Li Zhechao, the translator, gestured: "Ask him if he wants to live or die."

"I want to live, I want to live," Narain shook his head repeatedly.

Watching Narain's actions and listening to the translator's explanation, Li Zhe was speechless.

"Everyone in the world agrees or disagrees, except for India, which is a damn exception."

However, time was of the essence, and Li Zhe didn't think too much about it before saying:
“Tell him that if he wants to live, he should shout for his men to lay down their weapons and surrender.”

"Otherwise, he would have been shot dead on the spot for trying to escape."

Narain shook his head even faster.

Not wanting to be shot for 'escaping,' Nara cooperated fully, carrying a tin megaphone and shouting loudly everywhere.

With Narayin's personal testimony, the work of the 3rd Battalion became instantly easier.

The Sikh battalion ceased fighting, and the remaining Indian army brigade civilian staff were completely ineffective.

The soldiers can simply call out names from the roster.

However, upon counting, they discovered something terrible: the biggest fish in the Indian 7th Brigade, Brigade Commander Vikas, was nowhere to be found, neither in person nor in body.

This made Li Zhe so angry that he cursed.

Without Vikas, the credit is significantly reduced.

"Pursue! Pursue!"

"Leave one platoon to guard the prisoners, awaiting the comrades from the division to take over. The rest of you, pursue and annihilate them at full speed to the south, and expand the victory!"

就在3营围歼印7旅旅部的这一个小时的时间内，211团、212团、213团全都按计划完成了各自的任务。    印7旅的各个营就跟撒了欢的野驴群一样，漫山遍野的奔跑。

The entire 21st Division was then engaged in pursuit and annihilation.

This all-out pursuit and annihilation made the artillery companies of each regiment even more fond of the 100mm mortar.

The mortar company of the 212th Regiment has a total of 65 men, each carrying more than 35 kilograms of equipment, but they can keep up with the infantry's advance and provide stable fire support at any time.

This was impossible when equipped with 120mm mortars.

After a continuous march of most of the day, when the artillery company arrived at Longpubul, Company Commander Peng Xianjun suddenly ordered the troops to stop.

After the entire company switched to defense, Deputy Company Commander Zeng Dafu approached Peng Xianjun, who was lying on the ground observing.

"Company commander, what's going on?"

Peng Xianjun handed the binoculars to Zeng Dafu and pointed to the dense forest not far away.

“Look over there in the woods, there’s an Indian army group acting suspiciously.”

Zeng Dafu was startled and immediately looked over.

Although they followed the infantry, they did not stay together; there was a certain distance between them.

If we were to be attacked by Indian troops at this time, it could lead to a major disaster.

Seeing Zeng Dafu's expression change drastically, Peng Xianjun said, "Don't be nervous. Based on my observation, there aren't many enemies on the other side. I estimate it's just a squad."

Zeng Dachun instantly understood, "Company Commander, you want to wipe out this small group of Indian troops?"

“Not bad.” Peng Xianjun nodded. “According to the latest report, the 7th Company has cleared the ridge behind the mountain and destroyed the Zhongkun Bridge.”

"The Indian Army's 11th Brigade and the 4th Division's Tactical Command have fled, and those left behind should be Indian Army deserters."

"It shouldn't be difficult to eat them."

Zeng Dachun nodded: "Attack a small group of routed troops, that shouldn't be a problem."

Although the artillery company had no infantry, it was equipped with about ten submachine guns and semi-automatic rifles for self-defense.

If the Indian army only has one squad, wiping them out would be a piece of cake.

Moreover, if they allowed this Indian army to hide in the dense forest, their artillery company would have difficulty advancing.

Being attacked during a march and attacking each other after being prepared are two completely different outcomes.

Soon, Peng Xianjun organized the dozen or so guns in the team, and then selected nine people to form a commando squad, led by Zeng Dafu, and they sneaked into the depths of the dense forest.

Zeng Dafu chose to flank the Indian army, so the Indian troops were unaware that they had been discovered.

Sitting on the ground, Vikas kept sighing.

He never expected that the Indian 7th Brigade, with more than 5,000 men, would be wiped out in less than 24 hours.

Even on a global scale, such examples are extremely rare.

While Vicas was complaining, Zeng Dafu had already surrounded them.

"There are enemies!"

The Indian soldiers on guard duty paled, and their shouts became distorted.

The other Indian soldiers who were resting all jumped up.

Everyone's face was filled with fear and unease.

Anyone would know what being discovered at this moment means.

Vicas immediately shouted, "Don't linger! Let's retreat to the southeast immediately!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than gunshots rang out from the southeast, followed by gunshots from the west and south.

Looking at the only silent direction to the north, Vikas's eyes were filled with despair.

Gunfire erupted from three sides, but the central army did not advance.

If the Indian troops flee north, they will have to leave the forest, and then they will all become sitting ducks.

As the gunshots grew closer, Vikas's expression changed constantly.

Finally, after letting out a long sigh of relief, Vikas's body went limp. "Raise the white flag, we surrender."

Peng Xianjun was overjoyed to learn that all 11 Indian soldiers, including the commander of the 7th Brigade, had been killed alive.

"Report this to headquarters immediately! Damn it, our luck has turned! We've caught a big fish in the net with our artillery!"

Inside the 21st Division headquarters, looking at the reports from various units, Li Chishui laughed and said, "I hadn't even realized it before the battle was over."

"In less than 24 hours, we annihilated the Indian 7th Brigade and occupied Bangshan Pass."

"I've fought in wars for decades, and this is the first time I've won a victory so easily."

Ren Wuliu, who was standing to the side, also laughed and said, "The superiors' assessment before the battle was that the Indian army's combat strength was not much different from that of the elite Guo army. Now it seems that the Indian army's combat strength is much worse than that of the puppet army."

"In this battle, we killed more than 1,200 enemy soldiers and captured nearly 2,000. The total casualties of our three regiments were less than 100, which is less than the number of non-combat casualties."

This battle was completely unexpected by everyone.

No one could have imagined that victory would come so easily.

However, Li Chishui was indeed quite annoyed when it came to this non-combat casualty.

"With so many non-combat casualties, can we blame anyone else? It's all because they were greedy!"

"Before the battle, I repeatedly ordered that we not use captured weapons or eat captured food. How about that? You've been poisoned!"

"Commander, we can't blame the comrades entirely. Who knew that the Indian army poisoned all their food and water?"

The 21st Division suffered fewer than 100 casualties in the battle, but more than 300 soldiers were devastated by diarrhea after eating Indian food.

Li Chishui could already imagine how the division commanders of the other divisions would laugh at him in the future.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore." Li Chishui waved his hand and said, "Pass on my order: divide the troops into five groups, pursue them all, and take Tawang directly!"

Before the war, Indian soldiers generally believed they could take on six men at once, but once the fighting started, they discovered they were no match for each other.

Let alone one against six, even six against one couldn't stop it.

When the Indian 7th Brigade was besieged, the Indian 5th Brigade and the Indian 11th Brigade, which belonged to the 4th Division, both received telegrams requesting assistance.

However, after confirming the situation, the Indian 5th Brigade and the Indian 11th Brigade not only did not provide any support, but also withdrew their entire troops before the Indian 4th Division's tactical command post.

The Indian army's decisiveness and speed of retreat greatly impressed British war correspondents.

Apart from the wildebeest migration in the East African savanna, they had never seen any other mammals running so fast in herds.

The retreating Indian troops did not even stop in Tawang; they crossed the Tawang River directly and retreated to the Seymourne Pass.

The Indian army abandoned the Tawang River, a crucial defensive barrier, without even giving it a second glance.

The central army, as if on a picnic, easily reached Tawang and occupied East New Bridge.

However, after reaching Tawang, the troops stopped as ordered and did not continue to advance southward.

At the same time, border troops in Changdu, Linzhi, and SND districts also launched a counterattack against the Indian troops in front of them, approaching the Walong area.

In the eastern sector, border troops fought across more than a thousand miles, clearing out all invading Indian troops in places such as Tianwendian, Heweitan, Kongka Pass, and Galwan Valley.

On October 28, the Chinese military officially ceased its counterattack across the entire front and issued a statement proposing three suggestions: to stop the conflict, resume negotiations, and peacefully resolve the border issue.

In an effort to facilitate peace talks, the central government sent a letter to Nehru, urging the Indian troops to stop running away and return for the talks.

(End of this chapter)